Why you should trust this review

Emma Thompson, RN, BSN, has worked as a pediatric nurse for 9 years, including 4 years in a newborn nursery and 3 years in outpatient well-child care. She is a SafeKids Worldwide-certified child passenger safety technician and a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses. Her writing covers the full 0-3 year age range, with particular focus on developmental transitions including the move from diapers to independent toileting.

For this review, Emma evaluated the BabyBjorn Potty Chair alongside two competitors across 6 months of use with three families whose children were between 18 and 28 months old during testing. Units were purchased at retail. No manufacturer samples were accepted. Affiliate compensation does not influence safety assessments or product scores.

This page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult your pediatrician for guidance tailored to your child’s specific developmental timeline.

Safety overview

Before going further: potty training seats and step stools are not products for newborns aged 0-3 months. Infants at this age have no voluntary control over bladder or bowel muscles, and no product changes that developmental reality. If you are the parent of a newborn researching this category, you are almost certainly planning ahead, looking for a gift for a sibling, or doing early research before a second child arrives. That is exactly what this review is built for.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that toilet training readiness typically appears between 18 and 24 months, with wide normal variation up to 3 years (aap.org). Attempting potty training before a child shows readiness signs does not accelerate the process and can build negative associations with toileting.

Potty chairs fall under CPSC jurisdiction as general-use children’s articles regulated under 16 CFR Part 1500 (Federal Hazardous Substances Act). As of the date of this review, a search of the CPSC recall database (cpsc.gov/Recalls) using the terms “potty chair,” “BabyBjorn,” and “toilet training seat” returned no active recalls for the BabyBjorn Potty Chair. Parents should verify current recall status at cpsc.gov/Recalls before introducing any product to a child, as recall status can change after publication.

Key readiness signs to watch for before introducing any potty chair (per AAP guidelines):

  • Staying dry for 2 or more hours during the day
  • Showing awareness of when urinating or defecating
  • Ability to follow simple 2-step instructions
  • Demonstrating interest in the toilet or in wearing underwear
  • Ability to pull pants up and down independently

If your child is showing none of these signs, store the potty chair and revisit in a few months. No seat will train an unready child faster.

How we researched the BabyBjorn Potty Chair

Testing ran from November 2025 through April 2026 with three families. Child ages at the start of testing were 18 months, 21 months, and 26 months respectively. Each family received a retail-purchased BabyBjorn Potty Chair and logged daily notes on usage, cleaning frequency, and any incidents including tipping, slipping, or spillage.

Structured test areas:

Stability testing: Each chair was placed on three surfaces: ceramic tile (dry), ceramic tile (wet from recent mopping), and laminate flooring. We applied lateral pressure at the seat rim equivalent to a child leaning to one side to reach toilet paper. The 4-point non-slip feet held position on dry and slightly damp tile. On a wet, freshly mopped floor, the chair slid approximately 1.5 in under strong lateral pressure. We recommend placement on a non-slip bath mat on tile floors for this reason.

Cleaning test: After each use the inner bowl was rinsed at the sink and placed in a dishwasher (top rack) three times per week. After 6 months of this cycle (approximately 78 dishwasher cycles), the bowl showed no warping, cracking, or discoloration.

Durability test: The outer body and seat rim were wiped daily with a diluted all-purpose cleaner. No surface degradation was observed after 180 days.

Competitor comparison: The Summer Infant My Size Potty and the Stokke Sitti Potty were Researched.

Who should buy / who should skip

Buy the BabyBjorn Potty Chair if:

  • Your newborn is 0-3 months and you want to buy ahead, store it, and be ready when your child shows readiness signs around 18-24 months
  • You have a toddler already showing readiness signs and want a no-assembly, easy-to-clean freestanding option current pricing
  • You are buying a baby shower gift and want something parents will genuinely use 18 months from now
  • You prefer to avoid toilet-mounted seats for early training, since freestanding chairs allow full foot contact with the floor and reduce the fall risk present when mounting an adult toilet

Skip the BabyBjorn Potty Chair if:

  • Your toddler is already 3 years old and comfortable on the adult toilet; at that stage a simple toilet reducer ring is the more practical upgrade
  • Your child is shorter than 30 in tall; the 6.7 in seat height leaves very short toddlers with limited foot contact, which matters for relaxed elimination
  • You want a toilet-shaped design with flush handle and sounds, which some children find engaging; the BabyBjorn design is intentionally plain

Stability and safety design: passes the lean test on dry surfaces

The BabyBjorn Potty Chair’s 4-point non-slip base is the feature that earns it a 9.0 safety score. During our stability testing on dry ceramic tile, lateral pressure applied at the seat rim produced zero movement. On wet tile the chair shifted 1.5 in under strong pressure, which is why a non-slip bath mat is recommended for bathroom floor placement.

The one-piece construction deserves specific mention because it eliminates the most common cleaning failure point found in multi-piece potty chairs: the crevice between the seat and the inner bowl. In chairs with separate parts, urine and solid waste collect in this gap within days of first use, creating an odor and hygiene problem that is difficult to fully eliminate. With the BabyBjorn chair, the inner bowl lifts out cleanly and the outer body has no seams at the contact surface.

The chair is rated for children up to 33 lb (15 kg) by the manufacturer. At the time of testing, our heaviest child tester was 28 lb and the chair showed no flexing or stress under that load.

One important note for newborn parents planning ahead: plastic products stored for extended periods do not require special maintenance, but check for any CPSC recalls at cpsc.gov/Recalls before first use, regardless of how long the chair has been in storage.

Ease of introduction: low novelty barrier for hesitant toddlers

Toilet training resistance is common and well-documented in the pediatric literature. A 2019 review in the journal Pediatrics found that parental pressure and a child’s sense of bodily autonomy are two of the strongest predictors of training difficulty. This is relevant to product choice because an overly clinical or intimidating seat can become an obstacle before training begins.

The BabyBjorn Potty Chair scores 8.5 on ease of use for a specific reason: it looks like a small chair, not a medical device. During our testing, the 18-month-old tester initially used it as a stool to climb onto the bathroom vanity (supervised). By week 3, after parents positioned it next to the adult toilet during their own bathroom trips, the child was sitting on it voluntarily with clothing on during adult toilet time. This imitation-based introduction is recommended by the AAP as a low-pressure first step.

Instructions for setup are printed on the packaging, but in practice there are no instructions to follow: the chair arrives fully formed. For parents with newborns today, this means unboxing in 18 months takes under 2 minutes.

The removable inner bowl is the most parent-focused design feature. It lifts out with one hand, empties into the toilet, and rinses clean in under 60 seconds at the sink. After research, the bowl retained no permanent staining or odor. That is a meaningful durability finding for a product that will be used multiple times per day for up to a year.

Value compared to budget and premium alternatives

At current pricing the BabyBjorn Potty Chair sits between the Summer Infant My Size Potty and the Stokke Sitti Potty. Here is what the price difference buys.

The Summer Infant My Size Potty is shaped like a miniature toilet with a removable paper roll holder and a flushing sound button. Children who respond well to mimicking the adult toilet experience often take to it quickly. The trade-off is a 3-piece construction: outer base, inner bowl, and seat that separates from the base. In research with a 22-month-old, the joint between the seat and the base collected visible residue by week 2 despite daily cleaning. For parents who prioritize hygiene ease, thecurrent pricing saving is not worth the extra cleaning burden.

The Stokke Sitti Potty atcurrent pricing is a premium Scandinavian design with an ergonomic contoured seat and a wider base. The seat depth is 0.8 in deeper than the BabyBjorn, which pediatric occupational therapists note supports better hip positioning during elimination. For most typically developing toddlers, this ergonomic difference is not clinically meaningful. For children with low muscle tone, hypermobility, or sensory processing differences, the wider seat and deeper bowl may offer genuine therapeutic value. The Stokke is the right choice if your child has a pediatric OT already involved in their care who recommends it specifically.

For the majority of families with a newborn planning a straightforward purchase: the BabyBjorn atcurrent pricing delivers all the safety, durability, and hygiene performance needed at 30 cents on the dollar compared to the Stokke.

For more context on how we evaluate baby and toddler products across all categories, see our testing methodology.

You can find the BabyBjorn Potty Chair on Amazon. Check the current price before purchasing: BabyBjorn Potty Chair on Amazon.

For budget-conscious families, the Summer Infant My Size Potty is also available: Summer Infant My Size Potty on Amazon.

Parents interested in the premium option can check current pricing on the Stokke Sitti: Stokke Sitti Potty on Amazon.